It used to be that skilled poker players — who mostly played fixed-limit games — needed to learn how to adapt their games to no-limit once the NL hold'em 'boom' hit. Today, however, since most players at the tables now cut their teeth on no-limit, they've got to learn the old form of the game if they're going to become winning limit players.
- Fixed Limit Hold’em is also, therefore, a great game to learn first, because mistakes are much less costly. In No Limit you can lose everything in a single hand because of one error, but the amount you potentially can lose in Fixed Limit Hold’em is much smaller.
- Poker has a lot of variations and continues to be a major poker game up to date. Plenty of people don’t seem to comprehend the diversity and flexibility of the game. From cash games to tournaments, poker can also go with no limit, with a pot limit and a fixed limit.
Many poker players now start out by playing no-limit hold’em and this lesson is intended for those looking to make the transition to fixed-limit hold’em. We’ll focus on differences between the two games. While the betting rules are the main difference between the two formats, there are many other strategic differences.
Toward that end, with the availability of limit hold'em, H.O.S.E. and H.O.R.S.E. games online, and with casinos spreading limit games especially during major tournaments like the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, it's useful to understand some key conceptual differences between the two formats.
In this article I'd like to focus on the most significant difference between no-limit and fixed-limit games — implied odds. Then in a follow-up we'll talk further about some of the other most important adjustments players need to make when moving from no-limit to limit.
Pot Odds, Drawing Odds and Implied Odds
In no-limit poker implied odds are hugely important, while in fixed-limit games the significance of implied odds is, well, limited.
For those of you not familiar with the term, a quick primer on 'pot odds,' 'drawing odds' and 'implied odds' is necessary.
'Pot odds' refers to the amount of money you may win when you call a bet compared to the cost of calling that bet. If there's $800 in the pot and your opponent bets $200, to call means paying $200 with a chance at winning $1,000 total — in other words, you're getting 5-to-1 pot odds with your call.
'Drawing odds' refers to the probability that you won't make your hand. If you're drawing to a flush on the river, your drawing odds are the total number of unseen cards that don't help your hand compared to the number of cards that will give you the flush. Specifically, out of the total of 46 unseen cards, the odds are 37-to-9 or a little worse than 4-to-1 against you making your flush.
Finally, 'implied odds' are the pot odds as calculated above but also adding the money you might win on future betting rounds, too. Say you had that flush draw and faced having to call a bet on the turn. You'd calculate your pot odds, but add in the amount you might also win on the river if you hit your flush and bet and your opponent called. In a no-limit game, you could potentially win the size of your opponent's stack on the river (assuming you have him covered). Meanwhile in a limit game, you're only considering the size of another 'big bet' (the higher tier of betting) when thinking about implied odds — e.g., $20 in a $10/$20 limit game.
Without considering implied odds, if you are getting better pot odds than the drawing odds, then you should call. But if you're getting worse drawing odds than pot odds, then you aren't getting a good enough price for your call and you should fold.
If, for example, there was only $200 in the pot and your opponent bet $200 on the turn, then you'd only be getting $400 for your $200 call — that's 2-to-1 pot odds. Since your odds of hitting the flush on the river of worse than 4-to-1, that would be a bad call and you should fold.
But implied odds includes an additional piece of information to consider — the amount you might win on the river as well. Implied odds compares the cost of your bet on the turn with the total amount you might win in the hand, including the river.
So in the example above, with a pot of $200 on the turn, and a bet of $200 from your opponent, you'd have to know how much money you each had left in your stacks to know the implied odds. If you each had another $1,000 behind, and you thought your opponent would call off his entire stack if you bet it on the river after hitting your flush, then your implied odds would not be just 2-to-1, but rather 7-to-1 — the $400 pot on the turn plus the additional $1,000 you expected to win on the river if you hit your flush and your opponent called your stack-sized bet.
It should be added that implied odds are often going to be an estimate and not an exact calculation as with simple pot odds. If you know your opponent will call off his entire stack on the river when you make your flush and go all in, then you can be precise about the implied odds. But sometimes you'll only be able to estimate how much an opponent might pay off in such a spot (e.g., sizing your bet effectively to earn the call, not betting too much and having an opponent fold), which means you can't always be quite as exact with implied odds.
Implied Odds: Limit vs. No-Limit
Since players can potentially commit their entire stacks at any point in a no-limit poker hand, implied odds are especially important. There are implied odds in limit poker, too, of course — but they have less significance thanks to the limits on betting.
Continuing with the example of your drawing to a flush with one card to come, if the game were $100/$200 limit hold'em, you would factor in the chances that you could win one extra $200 bet on the river. So if the pot were $400 at the start of the turn and your opponent bet $200 (making the pot $600), you'd have immediate pot odds of 3-to-1 for your $200 call. That alone is not enough to justify continuing with your flush draw (which is a little worse than 4-to-1 of hitting).
But if you considered your implied odds, and figured your opponent would call your bet 100 percent of the time if you hit your flush on the river, you could add another $200 to what you stand to win as you decide whether to call that turn bet, giving you pot odds of 4-to-1 — closer to your drawing odds, but still not really making the call worthwhile.
Implied odds aren't just applicable on the turn and river. They are to be considered right from your initial decision to play your two hole cards. In no-limit games especially, implied odds have to be kept in mind as you are potentially 'playing for stacks' in every hand. That's not generally the case in fixed-limit games, which leads to many other strategic differences, including...
- playing more selectively preflop
- knowing when and how to press your advantages (extracting extra bets)
- being selective with postflop play
- making more river calls
- check-raising more frequently
Limit Vs No Limit Holdem
I'll explore all five of these adjustments in more detail in the next article.
Ashley Adams has been playing poker for 50 years and writing about it since 2000. He is the author of hundreds of articles and two books, Winning 7-Card Stud (Kensington 2003) and Winning No-Limit Hold'em (Lighthouse 2012). He is also the host of poker radio show House of Cards. See www.houseofcardsradio.com for broadcast times, stations, and podcasts.
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cash game strategytournament strategyfixed-limit hold’emlimit hold’emno-limit hold’emimplied oddspot oddsdrawing handspreflop strategypostflop strategy
Poker is a type of card game where the goal is to ‘surpass your opponents’. To achieve this, the players bet on the value of the card-combination dealt to them and place the betting amount into the central game pot. The player, who possesses a hand with the highest value, or remains in the game after all others have folded, emerges as the winner.
Each game of poker carries a structured amount of bets in each round of play. These are generally called limits. The limits of bets may be of three kinds – ‘No Limit’, ‘Pot Limit’ and ‘Fixed Limit’. It is important to understand these before choosing a table. Though there are minor differences, but each variation requires a separate set of strategies, attitude and mind-set.
Games No Limit Poker
Betting limit applies to the amount with which a player may open or raise. All poker games have a minimum bet limit, a stated maximum limit or no limit & a pre-decided betting unit in which bets can be made. Usually evaluation of the ‘pot limit’ and the ‘no limit’ poker is done on the basis of structure of the bet, strategies, skills & attitude required to be employed by the player.
Structure of the Bet
Pot Limit –
A pot limit is subjected to the size of the pot. The size of the pot is made of –
a) starting pot, i.e. chips collected from the previous rounds.
b) Previous action in current betting round, i.e. trail.
c) A call from the player making a raise.
In a pot limit game no player can raise more than the size of the pot, but this raise can be less than the size of the pot as long as it is equal to or more than any previous raise or bet in the same betting round. If a player makes maximum raise, its known as ‘raising the pot’. In this variation of the game, players can bet any amount up to the size of the pot or whatever amount they have available with them.
No Limit –
A game played with a no limit betting structure allows each player to raise the bet by any amount up to his entire remaining stake at any time. The limit is only on the minimum side, that is, any bet must be as big as the ‘big blind’ and any raise must be at least as big as the last bet on the round of betting. Each player starts with a certain minimum amount & is allowed to bet any amount over and above the initial amount during any part of the game. When a player bets everything that he has on the table, is referred to as ‘all-in’
Strategies, Skills & Attitude
Pot Limit –
In this format, the players know the maximum limit of betting, so they can set their strategies accordingly. Here the arithmetical nuances of the pot odds need to be understood fully, as the risks and rewards are the result of the pot size. The main aim of each player is to put as few chips into the pot as possible when he/she has a losing hand, and the vice-versa. If the bets are limited so are the rewards.
No Limit –
No limit poker is more a game of attitude and skill and one’s ability to judge the behavior of the opponents which require different strategies and moves to maximize one’s wins. You have to understand how your opponents are going to react to each hand. A good player will make different decisions in similar situations against the same player, to avoid the risk of being read by others. You can also manipulate your opponents by using your skills without even letting them know. Here, a player’s goal is to get his opponents to put as much amount into the pot as possible when he has the best hand. This variation of poker is associated with higher stakes and bigger risks.
Conclusion-
Both the variations of poker are equally thrilling and fun-filled, both need to be played intelligently and skillfully. Bluffing can be a part of both, but utmost caution must be observed so as not to let your opponents know of it. So keep changing your strategies and be alert to your opponents’ moves.